Books As Songs from Melodrama by Lorde

Like you probably noticed, books and music are two of my favourite passions, so I would like to start a series in which I combine different books with different albums from various artists that I enjoyed. I already did that with Lover by Taylor Swift and Fine Line by Harry Styles, and this time I decided to do it with another masterpiece, Melodrama by Lorde.
Hope you enjoy, let’s get started!

1. Green Light – Daisy Jones And The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

“All those rumors, they have big teeth
Oh, they bite you
Thought you said that you would always be in love
But you’re not in love no more
Did it frighten you
How we kissed when we danced on the light up floor?”

This book is so good, I can’t even begin to describe it. It’s probably the best book I’ve read in 2020, I still think about it after months. It talks about ambitious people, and I interpreted that green light in the song in this particular case to be a big inspiration or a dream. Also, the relationship described in this song is not the healthiest one, and the ones in Daisy Jones are also particularly fu**d up to say the least. But if I recommend you a book, it’s this one, I love complicated people in books, they’re so realistic.

 

2. Sober – Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare

“Ah, when you dream with the fever
Bet you wish you could touch our rush
But what will we do when we’re sober?”

No spoiler, but if you read this book you know what I refer to when I say that one character is particularly “drunk” on some magic, some enchantment that does not let him see straight. And when he’s “sober” he can see who’s the one he truly loves. I can’t wait to see more in book two, I’m so excited.

3. Homemade Dynamite – The Heart Forger by Rin Chupeco

“Our rules, our dreams, we’re blind
Blowing shit up with homemade d-d-d-dynamite
Our friends, our drinks, we get inspired
Blowing shit up with homemade d-d-d-dynamite
Blowing shit up with homemade d-d-d-dynamite.”

I discovered The Bone Witch series only this year, but I’m so glad I did. I loved this one so much, I hadn’t fallen in love with a fantasy trilogy for a very long time. This song reminds me of a couple in these books that it’s particularly – explosive, to say the least. They blew my mind and my heart with their banter and their love. They will forever have a special place in my heart.

4. The Louvre – The Secret History by Donna Tartt

“Our thing progresses, I call and you come through
Blow all my friendships to sit in hell with you
But we’re the greatest, they’ll hang us in the Louvre
Down the back, but who cares, still the Louvre.”

This song gives me seriously Dark Academia vibes, I can’t even begin to explain why. But I think this one fits perfectly with The Secret History. It’s dark, because it also talks about violence, but also in a sort of psychopathic way. And I mean, the characters in The Secret History are amazing for how well they’re written but they’re certainly not good people. Also, this song is amazing, maybe my favourite on the album, so it could only go with one of my favourite books ever.

5. Liability – We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra

“Baby really hurt me
Crying in the taxi
He don’t wanna know me
Says he made the big mistake of dancing in my storm
Says it was poison
So I guess I’ll go home.”

This song might seem a little bit harsh for a YA book, but believe me this YA book is dark. And even though this story then goes for the better, at the beginning one of the two main characters is a bit of an ars****e, even though I get why he thinks in a certain way. I get him, but I don’t condone him. Yeah, this book is difficult to read, I still think about it after a year.

6. Hard Feelings/Loveless – Normal People by Sally Rooney

“Hard feelings
These are what they call hard feelings of love
When the sweet words and fevers all leave us right here in the cold, oh oh
Alone with the hard feelings of love
God, I wish I believed you when you told me this was my home.”

You don’t need an explanation from me after reading these verses, guys. Now I’m actually crying. Normal People is one of my favourite books of all time and the feelings in this book are so real that they actually make me weak. I can’t even begin to describe how good this book is. And the TV series too, if you haven’t seen it I highly recommend it, it’s my favourite series of this 2020 so far. The actors are really good (and Paul Mescal guys – that chain, I’m weak).

7. Sober II (Melodrama) – The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

“And the terror and the horror,
God I wonder why we bother.
All the glamour and the trauma
And the fuckin’ melodrama, whoa, whoa.”

Another amazing book by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This follows the story of Evelyn Hugo, a fictional actress in the golden years of Hollywood. The atmosphere Jenkins Reid is able to create in this book will submerge you in the story and you will want to know everything about this amazing woman. There’s a lot of glamour, a lot of trauma and a lot of melodrama, I guarantee.

8. Writer In The Dark – Swear On This Life by Renee Carlino

“Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark
Now she’s gonna play and sing and lock you in her heart
Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark.”

I read this book quite some time ago, so I remember almost close to nothing of it, but I remember the premise being that a guy wrote a book about his childhood sweetheart, and they had a difficult relationship. I think it fits perfectly with the theme of this song, which is one of my favourites on this album.

9. Supercut – Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

“In your car, the radio up
In your car, the radio up
We keep trying to talk about us
I’m someone you maybe might love
I’ll be your quiet afternoon crush
Be your violent overnight rush
Make you crazy over my touch
But it’s just a supercut of us.”

This is actually quite simple, since every time I hear about a car ride in a song I instantly think about Emma and Julian from The Dark Artifices series. It’s like now they own car rides in my head lol. But, jokes aside, I really think this song is perfect to depict this relationship.

10. Liability (Reprise) – Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

“All of the dreams that get harder
All of the things that I offer you
And all of the shit that we harbour
Make all of the kids in the choirs sing woo-hoo.”

This might be a bit harsh since I totally adore this book, but I strongly think that at some points the differences between Elio and Oliver were what made them take the decisions they did take in the end of the book (I do not consider Find Me as canon, sorry, that’s just how my mind works). Sometimes you find the stars, but sometimes life just gets in the way.

11. Perfect Places – The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

“All of the things we’re taking
‘Cause we are young and we’re ashamed
Send us to perfect places
All of our heroes fading
Now I can’t stand to be alone
Let’s go to perfect places”

For this one I’m thinking about The Raven Boys because of the dreams factor. I totally think that there’s something mysterious and haunting in this song, and mysterious and haunting are the adjectives I would use to describe this fantasy saga. It is one of my favourites of all times.

So guys, we’ve come to the conclusion of this article, I hope you enjoyed, see you soon with another one,

 

Our Favourite Books of 2019

Merry Christmas readers! I hope you will find many books or bookish gifts under the Christmas tree. There are only a few days left before the end of the year and we think it’s time to take a look at what we read in order to find our 2019 favourite books.

This year we read a lot of beautiful novels and series and we are so happy to share our Top 10 with you. Without further ado, let’s take a look at them.

 

Silvia’s Top 10

1. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston;
2. The Secret History by Donna Tartt;
3. We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra;
4. Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett;
5. Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian;
6. Normal People by Sally Rooney;
7. The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater;
8. I Wrote This For You (Just the Words) by pleasefindthis;
9. Roam by C.H. Armstrong;
10. A Bend in the Stars by Rachel Barenbaum.

 

Emma’s Top 10

1. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston;
2. If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio;
3. Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake;
4. I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver;
5. Call Down the Hawk by Maggie Stiefvater;
6. Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills;
7. Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett;
8. The Secret History by Donna Tartt;
9. This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills;
10. 10 Blind Dates by Ashley Elston.

 

Martina’s Top 10

1. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston;
2. Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian;
3. Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds
4. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare;
5. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare;
6. The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White;
7. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern;
8. We Told Six Lies by Victoria Scott;
9. The Testaments by Margaret Atwood;
10. La Casa delle Voci by Donato Carrisi.

 

Samuele’s Top 10

1. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz;
2. Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff;
3. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff;
4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern;
5. Obsidio by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff;
6. Like a Love Story by Abdi Nazemian;
7. Breve Storia Amorosa dei Vasi Comunicanti by Davide Mosca;
8. Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare;
9. Little Women (part 1) by Louisa May Alcott;
10. Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau.

 

So, these are our 2019 Top 10s and we hope that yours are great too! If you’d like to let us know your Top 10 or you just want to discuss our choices, leave a comment down below. Thanks for reading!

The Secret History by Donna Tartt – Review

 

 

 

Title: The Secret History

Author: Donna Tartt

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 5/5 stars

Synopsis: In a very élite college in New England, five boys and a girl are part of the most prestigious class of the school, the Greek one, taught by the notorious professor Julian, a name in its field. Pushed by their great love for everything classical, the group will go beyond their boundaries in order to achieve the supreme.

(BEWARE. This review will contain spoilers. No, like, for real.)

Have you ever heard of the “Stendhal Syndrome”? That’s like, when you’re in front of a work of art so beautiful and so perfect that you actually feel like fainting. Like you want to go to the author’s house and thank him personally. Have you ever experienced it? If you’re sensitive like me and these kinds of things are familiar to you, you will certainly enjoy “The Secret History”.

This book was written almost thirty years ago and it follows the lives of six great minds, five boys and a girl, who are studying at a prestigious college in New England. They all study classical languages and they are more or less obsessed with everything regarding those subjects.
Even though this book is quite “old”, in a way, still I am speechless at how actual and at the same time how timeless it is.
This sure is a dark book, though. I would not recommend going into it if you’re easily disturbed. In the very first page we come to the knowledge that one of the boys was killed by the very hands of their friends. If you feel like that is something that makes you uncomfortable, maybe this is not the right read for you.

I am a great fan of the “dark academia” setting and vibes, I studied classical letters for a long time of my life, and I am so attached to everything that regards Ancient Greece and its culture (Roman-Latin, too, of course). And for this reason I felt a deep connection with the characters in this book (not the murderous side, though, let me be clear on that lol).

But I have to say that Donna Tartt did a terrific job in describing them. And I mean terrific in the Latin sort of way, if we talk about semantics. Like, they frightened me, but they were also so fascinating in my eyes. Again, I quivered. And I think this is the sense of the whole book. We can’t help but despise the actions that the main characters choose to undertake, but we can’t also help but to be in absolute awe of their minds.

For this reason my favourite character was surely Henry. I fall for great minds. It’s my fatal flaw. I think he has become one of my main book crushes of all times, solely for the fact that I think of him as one of the most intelligent people that ever walked on Earth. Beside the fact that he’s well, fictional and that he’s a serial killer (but what’s the worst that could happen to a boy that’s already hurt? – Lana Del Rey unreleased song semi-quote).

All of the choices in this book were basically made by Henry’s mind, and you can argue that they’re immoral AF (cause they are), but the boy is a genius. I’m sorry How To Get Away With Murder, that’s how you do the drill. I’m not going to take it back.

And there’s something so poetic about the guy, too (and the book in general). Even though I do not agree with what he did in the end (a.k.a: kill himself), I still see why he did it, and even if we might discuss about his motivations, I think he did it also because he was so disappointed in himself for having let Julian down, the only father figure he’s ever known. I cried so hard when he said he loved him more than a father, and more than anyone.

This is not a Henry Winter character study, though, so I just have to shut my mouth and continue with this review. I love how the book is called “The Secret History” and I think this is done with a purpose. It could possibly have been a “secret tale” of six guys, but it wasn’t. History plays a big role in this novel. I think the most cathartic moment in that sense is the very final scene where Henry (yeah, sorry, I know), already dead is seen alongside some of the major events that ever happened in history. Because that’s what he loved the most, and that’s what killed him in the end.

On a lighter tone, I want to briefly mention how greatly Tartt described the intricacy of the relationships in this book. How all of the six main characters were connected in ways we could not even begin to imagine, or comprehend. Because some strings are not meant to be understood by everyone but the main people in it. I loved the revelations about Francis and Charles, how we do not know until the end, how fucked up it is, how at the same time so pure and simple yet complicated it appears in Francis’ eyes. Sometimes what we love the most is only ours to understand and to deal with.

I’m done rambling, you guys, this review is already too long as it is. I am not done talking about this book, but I have to. I just want to say that this book has changed me a bit, and is surely one of my favourites ever. It’s not a book for everyone, but if it feels like something right up your alley, please give it a chance, I promise it’s worth it.